Chinese suppliers celebrate

China: biggest market for Mercedes-Benz, biggest market in the world for e-vehicles. The mood among the 800 guests at the BBAC Supplier Day in Beijing was fantastic.

Seven suppliers were particularly jubilant. They were nominated by Daimler Joint Venture Beijing Benz Automotive (BBAC) for outstanding performance. Amongst the suppliers for production material, the Supplier Award in the “Innovation” category was given to NavInfo, supplier for telematics services. The accolade for high-quality and professional quality went to the bushing specialist Zhongding Anhui. Yanfeng Adient Langfang received the award as a reliable partner for seat structures. The Special Award for 10 years of excellent cooperation with BBAC was given to the bumper manufacturer BBMPT. These three prize winners are among the suppliers of non-production material: Fuji Technica & Miyazu in the “Quality” category, Dalian Haosenread Equipment Manufacture for Innovation and Guhring (Changzhou) Cutting Tools in the Partnership category.

BBAC stands for Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd and is a joint venture between Daimler AG and its Chinese partner BAIC Motor. Mercedes-Benz have been producing passenger cars in Beijing since 2005 and since 2013 engines also.

The award winners united under the umbrella of the star.

The Beijing Yangi Lake International Convention Center provided an impressive backdrop for the BBAC Supplier Day. A worthy setting for the Chinese suppliers. Host Arno van der Merwe, President and CEO of Beijing Benz Automotive, said at the opening of the event: “At BBAC we are very proud that more than two-thirds of the Mercedes-Benz vehicles sold in China come from local production. The Made in China for China-production would not be possible without the support of our suppliers in the country.”

The host: Arno van der Merwe, President and CEO of BBAC.

Since 2015 China has been the biggest sales market for Mercedes-Benz. In the first half of 2017, 292,679 Mercedes-Benz vehicles were already sold here. From a global perspective, every fourth passenger car with the star is delivered in China. Klaus Zehender, member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Cars, purchasing and supplier quality, cited one of the reasons for this success: “The Chinese supplier base is a key factor in the long-term and sustainable development of the Mercedes-Benz brand in China.” The current focus is on the topics of connectivity, autonomous driving, shared services and electromobility – CASE for short. “For each of these future trends, we rely on qualified partners from China,” Zehender continued. And not only with CASE. For example, the Chinese supplier Minth delivers aluminum trim parts to the Mercedes-Benz plants all over the world. A prime example of the fact that cooperation with Chinese suppliers does not have to be limited to within China.

Dr. Klaus Zehender (right) with Jian Hui Shi, CEO of Minth.

The 800 guests at the BBAC Supplier Day also received an outlook on the future from Marcus Grund, Executive Vice President Daimler Greater China, Mercedes-Benz Cars, Procurement & Supplier Quality. After the record year of 2016, Mercedes-Benz is also on the way to new all-time bests in China this year. The success story is based, among other things, on the locally produced models at BBAC. E-Class, C-Class, GLA and GLC. The new generation of compact car is set to continue the positive trend over the next few years. The kickoff for this is 2018. About the cooperation with Chinese suppliers, Grund said: „In the area of purchasing and supplier quality, we work closely with our local partners to meet the global Mercedes-Benz standards. Every passenger car produced here meets the high expectations of Chinese customers in terms of quality.”

Marcus Grund: "We work closely with our local partners."Image 1 of 3

Time for an exchange of ideas with the business partners. Image 2 of 3

The guests at the BBAC Supplier Day in front of the Beijing Yangi Lake International Convention Center.Image 3 of 3